Christmas Hills, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Christmas Hills is a town in Victoria
, Australia
, 35 km north-east of Melbourne's central business district
. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Nillumbik
. At the 2006 Census, Christmas Hills had a population of 566.
Christmas Hills is located between Kangaroo Ground
and Yarra Glen
along Eltham-Yarra Glen Road (State Route C726), north of the Yarra River
in the Dandenong Ranges
. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Nillumbik
. In 1904, the Australian Handbook described Christmas Hills as "an excellent health resort".
The locality is very hilly, with One Tree Hill in the northwest rising to 372 m above sea level, and is home to several reserves including One Tree Hill Reserve and Sugarloaf Reservoir Park, opened in 1980 and managed by Melbourne Water
.
forests.
Gold was discovered at One Tree Hill in 1859, fuelling a brief goldrush. Quartz reef operations ended in 1864, and alluvial mining continued until 1908.
The area grew considerably in the 1870s - at one point the town had two hotels, two schools, a post office and a Mechanics' Institute.
The Post Office opened on 10 December 1874 as Christmas Hill, was renamed in 1913, and closed in 1974.
In 1884, a primary school was built, and by 1912, when the railway from Heidelberg
to Hurstbridge
was built, the area had a population of 146 and had become a tourist destination, popular with Melburnians seeking "clean air and an invigorating climate".
In 1893, 1939
, 1962 and 2009, the area suffered from destructive bushfires.
monument and a fire brigade shed
, erected after the 1939 bushfires. About 1 km to the west is Christmas Hills Primary School, first established in 1884, with a current enrolment of 22 students.
of Victoria. It was first established in 1937 by motoring enthusiasts and the Light Car Club for hill-racing motorbikes and cars and was utilised as a venue well into the postwar years. It was burnt out in 1962, but the track was later bitumenised.
reserve managed by Parks Victoria. Its main features are Happy Valley Creek, which runs through the reserve, and the 372 m One Tree Hill in the northeast. According to the Land Conservation Council of Victoria, it has been assessed as "being of State botanical significance for its ecological integrity and viability, rarity and representation of community types", and is home to 22 species assessed as regionally threatened, rare or restricted in the greater Melbourne area, including roosting colonies of Large Bent-wing Bat and Eastern Horseshoe Bat, and the Powerful Owl
, Brush-tailed Phascogale
and Barking Owl
. The LCC reports that 79 bird, 24 mammal, 7 reptile and 7 frog species have been recorded in the reserve.
reservoir which has a total water capacity of 96,000 megalitres, and was developed in the late 1970s and completed in 1981. It is managed by Melbourne Water and supplies scheme water to Melbourne's northern, western and inner suburbs. Sugarloaf is fed by the Maroondah Aqueduct and the Yarra River, and before entering the domestic water supply, water is treated at the Winneke Water Treatment Plant on the south bank of the reservoir to World Health Organisation guidelines. The main dam is 89 m high and 1,050 m long.
Around the reservoir is the Sugarloaf Reservoir Park, which opened in 1982 and is managed by Parks Victoria. The park's entrance, open during most daylight hours, is 1.2 km off Eltham-Yarra Glen Road, and barbecue and picnic facilities are available at Saddle Dam south-east of the dam wall (Ridge Park was closed for works in June 2006), and several walking trails can be used with permission of Parks Victoria. Watercraft are only permitted to launch from the Sugarloaf Sailing Club on the north bank, and sail boards, keel boats and/or craft with cabins, cooking or toilet facilities are not permitted on the Reservoir. The area is home to Eastern Grey Kangaroo
s, echidna
s, Wedge-tailed Eagle
s, Crimson Rosella
s and other wildlife. Vegetation ranges from grassland, having been cleared for agriculture in the decades prior to the reservoir's construction, to dry forest.
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, 35 km north-east of Melbourne's central business district
Melbourne city centre
Melbourne City Centre is an area of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is not to be confused with the larger local government area of the City of Melbourne...
. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Nillumbik
Shire of Nillumbik
The Shire of Nillumbik is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It contains some outer northern suburbs of Melbourne and rural localities beyond the urban area. It has an area of 435 square kilometres and has an estimated population of 62,837 people...
. At the 2006 Census, Christmas Hills had a population of 566.
Christmas Hills is located between Kangaroo Ground
Kangaroo Ground, Victoria
Kangaroo Ground is a town in Victoria, Australia, 26 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Nillumbik...
and Yarra Glen
Yarra Glen, Victoria
Yarra Glen is a town in Victoria, Australia, 40 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges...
along Eltham-Yarra Glen Road (State Route C726), north of the Yarra River
Yarra River
The Yarra River, originally Birrarung, is a river in east-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river is where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835 and today Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches...
in the Dandenong Ranges
Dandenong Ranges
The Dandenong Ranges are a set of low mountain ranges, rising to 633 metres at Mount Dandenong, approximately 35 km east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Nillumbik
Shire of Nillumbik
The Shire of Nillumbik is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It contains some outer northern suburbs of Melbourne and rural localities beyond the urban area. It has an area of 435 square kilometres and has an estimated population of 62,837 people...
. In 1904, the Australian Handbook described Christmas Hills as "an excellent health resort".
The locality is very hilly, with One Tree Hill in the northwest rising to 372 m above sea level, and is home to several reserves including One Tree Hill Reserve and Sugarloaf Reservoir Park, opened in 1980 and managed by Melbourne Water
Melbourne Water
Melbourne Water is a government owned statutory authority that controls much of the water system in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia including the reservoirs, and thesewerage and drainage system that services the city.- Overview :...
.
History
Christmas Hills owes its name to an emancipated convict and shepherd, David Christmas, who became lost on a 640 acres (2.6 km²) grazing lease in the area in 1842, and was found after days of wandering at a rise which was subsequently named after him. The area was considered to have poor quality soil, although nearby settlers earned an income from chopping firewood in the sclerophyllSclerophyll
Sclerophyll is the term for a type of vegetation that has hard leaves and short internodes . The word comes from the Greek sclero and phyllon ....
forests.
Gold was discovered at One Tree Hill in 1859, fuelling a brief goldrush. Quartz reef operations ended in 1864, and alluvial mining continued until 1908.
The area grew considerably in the 1870s - at one point the town had two hotels, two schools, a post office and a Mechanics' Institute.
The Post Office opened on 10 December 1874 as Christmas Hill, was renamed in 1913, and closed in 1974.
In 1884, a primary school was built, and by 1912, when the railway from Heidelberg
Heidelberg, Victoria
Heidelberg is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 11 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Banyule....
to Hurstbridge
Hurstbridge, Victoria
Hurstbridge is a semi-rural town in Victoria, Australia, 26 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district, at the junction of Diamond Creek and Arthur's Creek. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Nillumbik. At the 2006 Census, Hurstbridge had a population of 3448.- History...
was built, the area had a population of 146 and had become a tourist destination, popular with Melburnians seeking "clean air and an invigorating climate".
In 1893, 1939
Black Friday (1939)
The Black Friday fires of 13 January 1939, in Victoria, Australia, were considered one of the worst natural bushfires in the world, and certainly the single worst in Australian history as a measure of land affected...
, 1962 and 2009, the area suffered from destructive bushfires.
Christmas Hills township
The Christmas Hills township consists of a cluster of homes, a public hall, a tennis court, a memorial park with World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
monument and a fire brigade shed
Country Fire Authority
Country Fire Authority, or CFA, is the name of the fire service that provides firefighting and other emergency services to all of the country areas and regional townships within the state of Victoria, Australia, as well as large portions of the outer suburban areas and growth corridors of Melbourne...
, erected after the 1939 bushfires. About 1 km to the west is Christmas Hills Primary School, first established in 1884, with a current enrolment of 22 students.
Rob Roy
Rob Roy (37°38′56"S 145°17′10"E) in the western part is used for a range of hill racing events by the MG Car ClubMG Car Club
The MG Car Club is an international club founded in 1930 for owners and enthusiasts of MG cars. The club headquarters are based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire and are located adjacent to the now defunct MG factory site where cars were produced between 1930 - 1980...
of Victoria. It was first established in 1937 by motoring enthusiasts and the Light Car Club for hill-racing motorbikes and cars and was utilised as a venue well into the postwar years. It was burnt out in 1962, but the track was later bitumenised.
One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill (37°37′59"S 145°18′36"E), a former mining area in northwestern Christmas Hills, is now a 143 hectareHectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
reserve managed by Parks Victoria. Its main features are Happy Valley Creek, which runs through the reserve, and the 372 m One Tree Hill in the northeast. According to the Land Conservation Council of Victoria, it has been assessed as "being of State botanical significance for its ecological integrity and viability, rarity and representation of community types", and is home to 22 species assessed as regionally threatened, rare or restricted in the greater Melbourne area, including roosting colonies of Large Bent-wing Bat and Eastern Horseshoe Bat, and the Powerful Owl
Powerful Owl
The Powerful Owl , also known as the Powerful Boobok, is a species of owl native to south-eastern and eastern Australia, the largest owl on that continent...
, Brush-tailed Phascogale
Phascogale
The Phascogales , also known as Wambengers, are carnivorous Australian marsupials of the family Dasyuridae. There are two species: the Brush-tailed Phascogale and the Red-tailed Phascogale...
and Barking Owl
Barking Owl
The Barking Owl , also known as the Barking Boobook or Winking Owl, is a nocturnal bird species native to mainland Australia and parts of Papua New Guinea. They are a medium-sized brown owl and have an extremely characteristic voice that can range from a barking dog noise to a shrill woman-like...
. The LCC reports that 79 bird, 24 mammal, 7 reptile and 7 frog species have been recorded in the reserve.
Sugarloaf Reservoir
Sugarloaf Reservoir (37°40′30"S 145°17′33"E) is a 440-hectareHectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
reservoir which has a total water capacity of 96,000 megalitres, and was developed in the late 1970s and completed in 1981. It is managed by Melbourne Water and supplies scheme water to Melbourne's northern, western and inner suburbs. Sugarloaf is fed by the Maroondah Aqueduct and the Yarra River, and before entering the domestic water supply, water is treated at the Winneke Water Treatment Plant on the south bank of the reservoir to World Health Organisation guidelines. The main dam is 89 m high and 1,050 m long.
Around the reservoir is the Sugarloaf Reservoir Park, which opened in 1982 and is managed by Parks Victoria. The park's entrance, open during most daylight hours, is 1.2 km off Eltham-Yarra Glen Road, and barbecue and picnic facilities are available at Saddle Dam south-east of the dam wall (Ridge Park was closed for works in June 2006), and several walking trails can be used with permission of Parks Victoria. Watercraft are only permitted to launch from the Sugarloaf Sailing Club on the north bank, and sail boards, keel boats and/or craft with cabins, cooking or toilet facilities are not permitted on the Reservoir. The area is home to Eastern Grey Kangaroo
Eastern Grey Kangaroo
The Eastern Grey Kangaroo is a marsupial found in southern and eastern Australia, with a population of several million. It is also known as the Great Grey Kangaroo and the Forester Kangaroo...
s, echidna
Echidna
Echidnas , also known as spiny anteaters, belong to the family Tachyglossidae in the monotreme order of egg-laying mammals. There are four extant species, which, together with the platypus, are the only surviving members of that order and are the only extant mammals that lay eggs...
s, Wedge-tailed Eagle
Wedge-tailed Eagle
The Wedge-tailed Eagle , sometimes known as the Eaglehawk in its native range, is the largest bird of prey in Australia, but it is also found in southern New Guinea. It has long, fairly broad wings, fully feathered legs, and an unmistakable wedge-shaped tail...
s, Crimson Rosella
Crimson Rosella
The Crimson Rosella is a parrot native to eastern and south eastern Australia which has been introduced to New Zealand and Norfolk Island. It is commonly found in, but not restricted to, mountain forests and gardens. The species as it now stands has subsumed two former separate species, the Yellow...
s and other wildlife. Vegetation ranges from grassland, having been cleared for agriculture in the decades prior to the reservoir's construction, to dry forest.
Transport
Christmas Hills is not accessible by Melbourne public transport. Lilydale and Hurstbridge are the nearest railway stations to Christmas Hill.External links
- Australian Places - Christmas Hills
- Sugarloaf Reservoir Park (Parks Victoria)